Curriculum Portal

neurologyYou need to know

• ‘Engraved’ means cut or carved into a hard surface, while ‘pince-nez’ are spectacles held in place by a clip on the nose rather than by arms over the ears.
• A ‘practitioner’ is someone who works in a profession, especially medicine, and ‘clientèle’ means the customers or clients of a business or professional.
• ‘Evident’ means clear or apparent, while ‘conspicuous’ means easily noticed or attracting attention.
• A ‘deduction’ is a conclusion reached through evidence and reasoning, ‘erroneous’ means incorrect, and ‘unerring’ means consistently accurate or without mistakes.
• ‘Amiable’ means friendly and pleasant, ‘benevolence’ means kindness or a desire to help others, and ‘courtesy’ means polite and respectful behaviour.
• ‘Unprepossessing’ means not initially attractive or impressive, ‘expressionless’ means showing no emotion in the face, and ‘distracted’ means having attention drawn away from something.
• ‘Shrewd’ means showing sharp practical judgement, ‘ingenious’ means cleverly inventive, and ‘dexterity’ means skill and precision, especially when using the hands.
• A ‘conviction’ is a firmly held belief or a formal finding of guilt in court, and ‘persuasive’ means effective at convincing someone to believe or do something.
• A ‘proposition’ is a proposal or suggested idea, ‘caprices’ are sudden and unpredictable changes of mood or wishes, and ‘intricacies’ are complicated details.
• ‘Alluded’ means referred to something indirectly, while ‘gratifying’ means giving pleasure or satisfaction.
• ‘Intellects’ are minds or powers of reasoning and understanding, while ‘stature’ can mean physical height or a person's standing and reputation.
• ‘Quaint’ means attractively unusual or old-fashioned, while ‘moon-calf’ is an old-fashioned, insulting term for a foolish or dreamy person.
• Direct speech gives a speaker's exact words inside speech marks, with a capital letter at the beginning of a complete spoken sentence and its closing punctuation inside the speech marks.
• A reporting clause identifies the speaker and sometimes how they speak; a comma usually separates it from direct speech, but a question mark or exclamation mark replaces the comma when appropriate.
• A new paragraph begins whenever the speaker changes, helping the reader distinguish between speakers.
• A rhetorical question is asked for effect rather than to obtain an answer and can encourage reflection, express disbelief or persuade a reader.
• A possessive apostrophe usually comes before an added ‘s’ for a singular noun, after the existing ‘s’ for a plural ending in ‘s’, and before an added ‘s’ for an irregular plural such as ‘children’.
• An apostrophe of omission marks missing letters in a contraction, as in ‘don't’ for ‘do not’ and ‘it's’ for ‘it is’; the possessive word ‘its’ has no apostrophe.
• A short sentence can emphasise an important detail, create an abrupt change or increase tension, although its effect depends on the context.
• A dash can mark a sudden break, interruption or emphatic addition, while a pair of dashes can enclose additional information within a sentence.

• Select and use the listed vocabulary accurately in sentences, matching each word's meaning, grammatical role and tone to the context.
• Distinguish context-dependent meanings of words such as ‘conviction’ and ‘stature’, using clues in the surrounding sentence to justify the choice.
• Write dialogue with correctly placed speech marks, capital letters and closing punctuation, beginning a new paragraph whenever the speaker changes.
• Position reporting clauses before, after or within direct speech, adjusting commas and capital letters correctly and retaining question marks or exclamation marks where needed.
• Place possessive apostrophes accurately by identifying the possessor and deciding whether the noun is singular, a regular plural or an irregular plural.
• Form contractions by placing apostrophes where letters have been omitted, distinguishing ‘it's’ from the possessive ‘its’.
• Construct rhetorical questions that serve a clear purpose, such as challenging an assumption, conveying disbelief or encouraging agreement.
• Use short sentences and dashes deliberately to emphasise details, create abrupt changes or mark interruptions, explaining their effects in context.